Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 22732, James Dobbin, Penn.

SERVICE
NUMBER
Penn.
Dobbin, James or Dobbins
S. 22732
Rotw in Penn.
CONTENTS

N. 71.726. Pittsburgh
James Dobbins
of Westm n Co. in the State of Penn s . who was a Private in the company commanded by Captain Stites of the Reg t . commanded by Col. Shoop in the Pa a Militia time for 7 months Private $23.33
Inscribed on the Roll of Pittsburgh at the rate of 23 Dollars 33 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 10 th day of June 1833 and sent to Jos. S. Young Greensburg, Pa a
Arrears to the 4th of March 1833 46.66 Semi-ant. allowance ending 1 st Sept r 1833 11.66
$58.32
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by D. Brown Clerk Book E. Vol. 5 Page 74.

State of Pennsylvania } ss Westmoreland County }
On this Eighth day of April Eighteen hundred and thirty three personally appeared in Open Court before the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of said County now sitting James Dobbins a resident of Hempfield Township in the County of Westmoreland aforesaid & State of Pennsylvania aged twenty six years who being first duly sworn according to Law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June the 7 th 1832 -
That he entered the service of the United States under the following named Officers & served as herein after stated -
That on the fourth day of July in the year 1776 he volunteered in Yorktown in Pennsylvania in a company of Militia commanded by Capt. William Bailey & Ensign Jacob Barnet for the term of two months -
Then Marched to Philadelphia under the command of Bailey along (as this Declarant thinks with a company commanded by Capt. Misen) where they detained three days then proceeded by water to Trenton where they remained one day, thence to Princeton thence to Boundbrook, thence to Elizabeth town, thence to Newark, thence to Bergen Point about two miles from Pawleke hook opposite the City of New York -
We were at Bergen Point when the British Army landed at Long Island and remained there until the two months term for which we engaged had nearly expired -
This Declarant then with some of the company, to which he had been attached enlisted on the flying camp for the term of six months at Bergen Point under the command of Capt. Heck in a Regiment commanded by Colonel Hoops - From Bergen this Declarant was marched to the place where Fort Lee was built, in which this Declarant was engaged in the building of the same until he was

called upon or rather volunteered with many others at Fort Lee to go and assist in the defence of Fort Washington which it was apprehended would be attacked by the British - It was about the day of November 1776 on the morning of the same the Fort was attacked, as we supposed at that time, by about twenty thousand British - We fought outside of the Fort until about noon of the same day, when most of our men was taking refuge in the Fort - Capt. Smith carried the our flag to the British and surrendered -
The number of Americans fighting at the Fort was supposed to be in number about twenty five hundred -
After the fort had surrendered it was a common Report among the British themselves that they had seven or eight hundred Hessians killed and about two hundred British -
We had about ninety killed and the remainder taken as prisoners among whom was this Declarant -
We were taken by Harding River or Hellgate when we remained on Sunday then on Monday proceeded to New York where we was confined in New Bridewell about eight weeks - He understood it was built for a poor house but never finished at least was not at the period of our confinement -
When we was in Bridewell owing to extreme colds which we experienced and starvation a great many died and the remainder living with myself were liberated sometime in January 1777 on what terms this Declarant is now unable to recollect - We were carried to South Amboy in a shallop and delivered at the American lines - This Declarant had a younger Brother who was taken a prisoner at the same time & place and confined in the same prison who died the moment he reached the American lines and to whom forty Dollars was due at the time he died & which was never paid over to any of his heirs -
From our lines we were carried to Philadelphia from there home to Little York where this Declarant laid sick about eight weeks under the hands of Doctor

Parison by reason of the great suffering he endured from hunger & colds in the Prison at New York -
He has no Documentary Evidence of his services, and he knows of no person living who could testify to the same -
His service for the two months under Bailey and the service under Stick which commenced about the expiration of the two months service and ended sometime in January 1777 the time he was liberated as a prisoner, making seven months in all for which he claims a pension but thinks himself intitled to pay for Eight months owing to his great suffering and long sickness -
And I do hereby relinquish every claim whatsoever to a pension or annuity except the present and declare that my name is not on the Pension Roll of the agency of any State -
Sworn to and subscribed this 5 th day of April 1818 James Dobbins
Randal McLaughlin Pres.
1. When and in what year were you born? Answer. In Chester County Penn a . - in the year 1756 on the 15 th day of July -
2. Have you any Record of your age & if so where is it? And. None other than I have by memory from a Record as kept by my father -
3. When were you living when called into service - where have you lived since the Revolutionary war - and where do you now live?
Answer. I lived a number of years in Yorktown Penn a . - five or six years in Canonsburgh Penn a . & in the neighborhood of Greensburgh soon since in Westmoreland Co. Penn a . -
4. How were you called into service? were you drafted - did you volunteer or were you a substitute and if a substitute for whom?
And. The answer to this Interrogatory is contained in the foregoing Declaration -

5 th State the names of some of the Regular Officers who were with the troops when you served - such Continental & Artillery Regiments as you can recollect & the general circumstances of your service.
Ans. The Answer to this is contained in the foregoing Declaration. Colonel McGehee commanded Fort Washington when it was taken.
6 th Did you ever receive a discharge from the service? and if so by whom was it signed and what has become of it?
Ans. I never did that I recollect.
7 th State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighbourhood & who can testify as to your character for morality & good behaviour & your services as a soldier of the Revolution.
Answers The President of this Court - Robert Brown - Reverend Cannon James Brady Richard Coulter Esq. James Bobbitt
We George Scott a clergyman residing in Beam County Penn a and Robert Brown residing in the Borough of Greensburg in the State of Pennsylvania
hereby certify that we are well acquainted with James Bobbitt who has subscribed & sworn to the above Declaration: that we believe him to be seventy six years of age.
That he is reputed & believed in the neighbourhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution & that we concur in that opinion.
Sworn to & subscribed this day & year aforesaid
Robt Brown Geo. Scott
Just.
Randal McLaughlin, Clerk

e. V o 25159 James Dobbins Westmoreland County Pennsylvania
admitted 7 mo. Private. f 23:33/3
Col. J. Young Greensburg, Westm. Land County Penn te
E
OKW

WAR DEPARTMENT,
Pension Office,
183
Sir:
The evidence in support of your claim, under the act of June 7, 1832, has been examined, and the papers are herewith returned. The following is a statement of your case in a tabular form. On comparing these papers with the following rules, and the subjjoined notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed, before a pension can be allowed. The notes and the regulations will shew what is necessary to be done. Those points to which your attention is more particularly directed, you will find marked in the margin with a brace, (thus: { ). You will, when you return your papers to this Department, send this printed letter with them; and you will, by complying with this request, greatly facilitate the investigation of your claim.
A Statement, shewing the Service of James Dobbins Westmoreland County Pennsylvania
   Period when the service was rendered. Duration of the claimant's service. Rank of the claimant. Names and rank of the Field officers under whom he served. Age at present, and place of abode when he entered the service. Proof by which the declaration is supported.   Years. Months. Days.     Vol. 4. July. 1776 - 2 - private Capt Baily 76 years York Town Traditionary evidence. papers Correctly Attached   Enlisted. 1776 1 1 1 " Capt Stick, Col Shoop Pennsylvania Battle of Fort Washington   7  
I am, respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
J. L. EDWARDS, Commissioner of Pensions.

REGULATIONS UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 7, 1832.
The following regulations have been adopted:
This law has been construed to extend, as well to the line, as to every branch of the Staff of the Army, and to include under the terms "Continental Line," "State troops," "militia," and "volunteers," all persons enlisted, drafted, or who volunteered and who were bound to military service, but not those who were occasionally employed with the army upon civil contracts, such as Clerks to Commissaries and to Store Keepers, &c., Teamsters, Boatmen, &c. Persons who served on board of private armed vessels are also excluded from the benefits of the law, as well as persons who turned out as patrols, or were engaged in guarding particular places at night, and were not recognized as being in actual military service.
Four general classes of cases are embraced in this law:
 1. The Regular Troops.  2. The State Troops, Militia, and Volunteers.  3. Persons employed in the Naval Service.  4. Indian Spies. 
As rolls of the regular troops in the Revolutionary War exist in this Department, all persons claiming the benefit of this law as officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians or privates, will, in the first instance, make application by transmitting the following declaration, which will be made before a Court of Record of the County where such applicant resides. And every Court having by law a seal and Clerk is considered a Court of Record.
DECLARATION,
In order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress of the 7th of June, 1832.
State, Territory, or District of } ss. County of }
On this day of personally appeared (a) before A. B. a resident (b) of in the county of and State, Territory or District of aged (c) years, who being first duly sworn, according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the act of Congress, passed June 7th, 1832. That he enlisted in the Army of the United States in the year (d) , with and served in the (e) regiment of the line, under the following named officers:
[Here set forth the names and rank of the Field and Company Officers; the time he left the service; (and if he served under more than one term of enlistment, he must specify the particular period, and rank and names of his officers;) the town or county and State in which he resided when he entered the service; the battles, if any, in which he was engaged, and the country through which he marched. This form is to be varied so as to apply to the cases of officers and persons who belonged to the militia, volunteers, navy, &c.]
He hereby relinquishes every claim (f) whatever to a pension or an annuity, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of any Agency in any State, or (if any) only on that of the Agency in the State of
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
A. B.
[And then will follow the certificate of the Court.]
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion (g) that the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier, and served as he states.
I of the Court of do hereby certify (h) that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office (i) this day of &c.
If, on examination of the proper record, the names of applicants, making such declaration, cannot be found, they will produce such proof as the rule given in note (j) points out
Every applicant who claims a pension by virtue of service in the State Troops, Volunteers or Militia, except those who belonged to the New Hampshire Militia and State Troops of Virginia, will make and subscribe a declaration similar to the foregoing, with the following additions, viz:
(k) We, A. B., a Clergyman, residing in the and C. D. residing in (the same) hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with , who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be years of age; that he is reputed and believed, in the neighborhood where he resides, to have been a soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion.
Sworn and subscribed the days and year aforesaid.
[And then will follow the certificate of the Court.]
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above named applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states. And the Court further certifies, that it appears to them that A. B. who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman, resident in the and that C. D., who has also signed the same is a resident in the and is a credible person, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
I, Clerk of the Court of do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this day of &c.
Every applicant will produce the best proof in his power. This is the original discharge or commission; but if neither of these can be obtained, the party will so state under oath, and will then procure, if possible, the testimony of at least one credible witness, stating in detail his personal knowledge of the services of the applicant, and such circumstances connected therewith, as may have a tendency to throw light upon the transaction.
If such surviving witness cannot be found, the applicant will so state in his declaration, (l) and he will also, whether he produce such evidence or not, proceed to relate all the material facts, which can be useful in the investigation of his claim, and in the comparison of his narrative with the events of the period of his

alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each person will be indispensable to a favorable action upon his case. The facts stated will afford one of the principal means of corroborating the declaration of the applicant, if true, or of detecting the imposition, if one be attempted; and unless, therefore, these are amply and clearly set forth, no favorable decision can be expected. All applicants will appear before some Court of Record in the County in which they reside, and there subscribe and be sworn to, one of the declarations above provided, according to the nature of his case.
The Court will propound the following (m) interrogatories to all applicants for a pension, on account of service in the Militia, State troops, or Volunteers, except the Militia of New Hampshire and the State troops of Virginia.
 1. Where and in what year were you born?  2. Have you any record of your age, and if so, where is it?  3. Where were you living when called into service; where have you lived since the Revolutionary war, and where do you now live?  4. How were you called into service; were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute? And if a substitute, for whom?  5. State the names of some of the Regular Officers, who were with the troops, where you served; such Continental and Militia Regiments as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your services.  6. { To a Soldier. } Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so, by whom was it given, and what has become of it? { To an Officer. } Did you ever receive a commission, and if so, by whom was it signed, and what has become of it?  7. State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood, and who can testify as to your character for veracity, and their belief of your services as a soldier of the Revolution. 
The Court will see that the answers to these questions are embodied in the declaration, and they are requested to annex their opinions of the truth of the statement of the applicant.
The applicant will further produce in Court, if the same can be done, in the opinion of the Court, without too much expense and inconvenience to him, two respectable persons—one of whom should be the nearest clergyman, if one lives in the immediate vicinity of such applicant, who can testify, from their acquaintance with him, that they believe he is of the age he represents, and that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood to have been a Revolutionary soldier, and that they concur in that opinion. If one of these persons is a Clergyman, the Court will so certify, and they will also certify to the character and standing of other persons giving such certificates.
The traditional evidence of service is deemed very important, in the absence of any direct proof, except the declaration of the party. And the Courts are requested to be very particular in the enquiry whether the belief is general, and whether any doubts have ever existed upon the subject.
Applicants unable to appear in Court, by reason of bodily infirmity, may make the declaration before required, and submit to the examination, before a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record of the proper county, and the Judge or Justice will execute the duties, which the Court is herein requested to perform, and will also certify that the applicant cannot, from bodily infirmity, attend the Court.
Whenever any official act is required to be done by a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, or by a Justice of the Peace, the certificate of the Secretary of State or Territory, or of the proper Clerk of the Court or County, under his seal of office, will be annexed, stating that such person is a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, or a Justice of the Peace, and that the signature annexed is his genuine signature.
No payments can be made on account of the services of any person, who may have died before the taking effect of the act of June 7, 1832; and in case of death subsequent thereto, and before the declaration herein required is made, the parties interested will transmit such evidence as they can procure, taken and authenticated before a Court of Record, showing the services of the deceased, the period of his death, the opinion of the neighborhood respecting such services, the title of the claimant, and the opinion of the Court upon the whole matter.
[a] The declarant must appear in open Court, unless prevented from doing so by reason of bodily infirmity; in which case the declarant will follow the rule laid down for his guidance.
[b] The declarant must make his declaration in the county where he resides. If he should fail to do so, he must assign a sufficient reason for not conforming to the rule.
[c] The age of the claimant must invariably be mentioned.
[d] The declarant must mention the period or periods of the war when he served.
[e] Every continental officer or soldier must give the name of the Colonel under whom he served; otherwise a satisfactory examination of the claim cannot be had. Every claimant must state, with precision, the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served, in language so definite as to enable the Department to determine to what amount of pension he is entitled. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words:
"Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service; but, according to the best of his recollection, he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades:—For _____ year _____ months, and _____ days, I served as a _____. For _____ months and _____ days, I served as a _____; and for such service I claim a pension."
It is important, in all cases, to determine with precision the period for which each applicant served, and the particular rank he held, as the law directs the pension to be paid according to the grade of the pensioner and the length of his service. The use of the phrase about three or four months , is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable. Some persons who apply for pensions merely state that they served two years in the militia, &c. without specifying the tours, the names of the officers, and other particulars respecting their service. This form of a declaration is highly objectionable. It must, in every case, be clearly shown under what officers the applicant served; the duration of each term of engagement; the particular place or places where the service was performed; that the applicant served with an embodied corps called into service by competent authority; that he was either in the field or in garrison; and for the time during which the service was performed, he was not employed in any civil pursuit.
[f] The law makes the relinquishment indispensable.
[g] The opinion of the Court is always required.
[h] The Clerk must give his certificate in every case.
[i] The Clerk must affix his seal, and if it has no device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal, or if he has no public seal of office, the certificate of a Member of Congress, proving the official character and signature of the certifying officer, should accompany the papers.
Mode of authenticating papers.
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticates the papers is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other papers authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the ends of which must pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached to the certificate.
Proof of Service.
[j] In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he must prove his service by two credible witnesses who are required to set forth in their affidavits the time of the claimant's entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the regiment, company, and line to which he belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.
[k] The notes from [a] to [j] are all equally applicable to the cases of Militia men, Volunteers and State Troops. The proof required by rule is note [j] applies to continental troops only.
[l] This traditional evidence is indispensable in militia cases.
[m] If a witness cannot be found, the declarant must state the fact.
[n] The answers to the interrogatories must all be written, and sent to the War Department, with the declaration.

Revolutions
22 732 INVALID.
File No. 22,732
James D. Smith Pr. Rev War
Act: June 7 th 32
Index:—Vol. 2 , Page 110
[Arrangement of 1870.]

James Dobbin's
25159

And the said Court Do hereby declare their Opinion after the investigation of the matter and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department that the above named Applicant James Dobbins was a Revolutionary Soldier and served as he states - And the Court further certifies that Robert Brown who signed the preceding certificate is a resident of Greensburgh in the County of Westmoreland and that George Stott is a clergyman now a resident of Beaver County in Pennsylvania & signed the same certificate; further that they are credible persons & that their statement is entitled to credit - Respectfully
Westmoreland County ss
I, Randal McLaughlin Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County Do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings in the matter of the application of James Dobbins for a pension. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this Twenty seventh day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty three -
Randal McLaughlin, Prothonotary